New Zealand Is Kept Waiting Again

SAN FRANCISCO — A regatta that struggled to get started when the challenger series began in July is now struggling to finish, with Emirates Team New Zealand just one victory from winning the America’s Cup.

Racing was postponed Saturday because officials ruled that the prevailing wind direction, from the south, did not allow for sufficiently good racing conditions.

“There’s an awful lot at stake here for these teams, and I understand that they don’t want to have anything less than a quality race,” said Iain Murray, the regatta director. “The America’s Cup deserves quality races. These boats are quality. The crews are certainly quality, and this is representing hundreds of millions of dollars and years of people’s lives here on the line.”

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Racing was postponed Saturday because the wind was from the south, which was not optimal for sailing.CreditJeff Chiu/Associated Press

Conditions are expected to be ideal for racing Sunday, Murray said. Team New Zealand, the challenger, leads, 8-3, over Oracle Team USA, the defending champion. Oracle has won five races, but it was hit with a two-race penalty before the series because an international jury ruled the team had broken rules in preliminary regattas in smaller boats.

The Cup match has produced some remarkably tight and spectacular racing, but has lost its narrative momentum this week because of delays related to the wind.

For five straight days, at least one race has been postponed or abandoned. There have been too much wind, too little wind and now wind from the wrong direction. Murray said he consulted with team officials from each side on Friday night about setting an alternative course on Saturday to compensate for the unusual wind conditions that were expected. He said both teams declined the proposal.

“They wanted to hold on to sail in the proper southwesterly breeze they have become accustomed, and if that meant sitting out today, that was going to be the case,” Murray said. He said television agreements and time restrictions set by the Coast Guard meant that the window for a potential starting time could not be pushed back. As a result, the Cup final will stretch into a 16th day, matching the longest previous Cup, in 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section SP, Page 10 of the New York edition with the headline: New Zealand Is Kept Waiting Again. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe